


Bloodbound

by Anonymous



Category: Snowpiercer (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Kid Fic, Spanking, Swearing, just once, of course there is swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-31
Updated: 2015-11-02
Packaged: 2018-04-02 03:50:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4044790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Curtis is no stranger to nightmares. But he has learned to live with them, accepted them as his punishment for his sins.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was cold.

Cold and noisy.  
But he was used to both.

Without straining his ears, he could easily make out the telltale sounds of his neighbors. He knew what to expect. By the time darkness came, there would be the one young couple hissing their arguments at each other while making sure their baby girl would not wake up and start wailing.

The old man with his violin, softly stroking the bow over the fine strings, luring a soft melody out of his beloved instrument. Gentle and delicate sounds but audible nevertheless.

The grunts of two lonely hearts consoling each other in a not so secret love affair, gasping and groaning at each other while forgetting that there were always ears that would hear and know what they kept doing.

Of course they could all hear the train, never silent, even at night. Rattling on the rails and screeching over metal.

So it was actually never quiet at nighttime. Not when there were so many of them, living practically on top of each other.

And then there was Edgar.

He could hear the boy mumbling in his sleep. First barely a murmur but Curtis knew from experience it wouldn't last like that. The mumbling turning into words of longing for lost friends, an unknown father, his dead mother.

Soon, he would be thrashing and crying and finally come to the end of this night's attempt at sleep, because the boy would be embarrassed for making a ruckus and too afraid to return to his dreams.

Curtis was no stranger to nightmares. But he learned to live with them, accepted them as his punishment for his sins.

His one big sin.

Edgar was now keening lowly in his sleep. Soon the sun was going to rise and they would follow their never-changing routine.

Curtis shivered again and tightened the blanket around him.

He'd paid the gas bill, he was sure of it. Sometimes he forgot about it but this time he didn't and the heaters should not be so cold and unresponsive.

It was probably the whole house then, he mused.

It was no secret that the company who owned their apartment block wanted to smoke them out. Apparently the market was currently in demand for construction land and it would fill many pockets if their home was just knocked down already. So far, Wilford Inc. already employed a couple of bruisers who had attacked and beat some of the tenants on a regular basis. Threatening the families so they would move out soon and vacate their flats.

It wasn't that Curtis and his neighbors had much of a choice really, unemployment and difficult circumstances often forced them to stay. The rent was cheap and really the only thing any of them could afford.

The old Mr. Wilford Sr. had been a kind and generous man, who believed that low living costs would promote a whole different direction in life for the socially lower classes. He was a visionary and a bit of a nutcase, because he gave all the involved parties a solid contract on the renting conditions that would not expire as long as they choose to remain living in the block.

But it all changed very quickly, nearly 10 years ago when the old man died and his son and the other shareholders took over.

They wanted things to be handles different but eventually had to abide the law. More or less to be exact.

The building was run down by now, broken staircases and leaky roof.

It was far from nice or pretty but it was home for the families that lived there.

So now, it seemed that they were messing with the heating.

Curtis decided it would be best do go down the lower levels later and speak with Gilliam, the caretaker. He usually knew what to do and maybe between them, they would be able to fix whatever was wrong with the heating.

Edgar was sobbing now, still asleep but most likely not for much longer. Curtis slowly sat himself up and swung his legs down. A shudder rolling down his back when his feet made contact with the freezing floor.

He ignored it and got up, walking the short distance over to the worn old sofa that served as the boys' bed.  
Soon they would need something else for Edgar to sleep on, seeing as his feet nearly hung over the armrest on one side.

The kid must have had a growth spurt lately.

"Edgar, come on. Wake up, you're dreaming," Curtis nudged the boys bony shoulder none too gently. The kid would be even more embarrassed if he was suddenly getting mollycoddled by the older man.

Edgars' hitched noises told Curtis he had woken up already, trying to get his breathing to even out and his emotions under control. "Fuck, I'm sorry," the boy mumbled sleepily.

Curtis had turned his back to him and started rummaging in the small kitchen to make some coffee.

Neither of them would go back to sleep now.

"Bloody cold in here," Edgar was shuffling towards the bathroom and emerged wearing a jumper and sweatpants over his pyjamas.

The boy then sat down at the narrow counter that served them as a table and made to grab the freshly brewed coffee to pour himself a cup.

Curtis swiftly slapped his hand away and planted a bowl in front of the kid instead. "I think not. You are too hyper already without any caffeine going through your bloodstream. You can have some cereal instead, that's bad enough with all that sugar," the man lectured without much enthusiasm. It was the same speech as always.

Edgar glared at him but instead of breaking into the tedious argument once again, he reached out and filled his bowl with cornflakes.

"You got all your homework done yesterday?" Curtis asked over the crunching noises while sipping at his drink.

Edgar huffed in response and continued to shovel as much food into his mouth as possible to prevent him from giving a real answer, his eyes fixed on a point somewhere at the opposite wall.

Curtis rolled his eyes and thumped his young friend on the head with two fingers. "You know the drill, Edgar! If you don't do it, they will send you to the headmaster again. You can't afford to be in trouble again."

Shoulders getting tense, Edgar drew his brows together in annoyance. "So what, I won't be in school then. I hate it there anyways. You didn't finish either!"

Curtis shook his head at him. "Yeah I didn't and you know why. And I was 18 - not 14. You think child services will find it funny if you decided to drop out of school?", he stared pointedly at Edgar and grabbed his chin to prevent the boy from looking away again. "They will take you away and there is nothing I can do about it if you continue to act like a stupid little brat," he squeezed the kids' jaw a bit harder then necessary. One could only have so much patience and Edgar was an expert of trying it.

Before the boy could respond with whatever cheeky answer he would surely fling back at his guardian, Curtis grabbed the discarded rucksack from the kitchen floor and slammed it on the counter. "Get started! And put some effort into it," he commanded in a voice that booked no room for backtalk.

"Fine, whatever man. Don't get your panties in a twist," the boy groused but stared pulling his books and papers out if the bag.

It was still another hour or so before the rest of the hose would start to wake up but they both would keep themselves busy til it was time to start the day.

"I'm going down to the basement after work, do you want to come?", Curtis asked casually in an attempt to make peace between them.

Edgar glanced up from his scribbling and wrinkled his nose. It made him look like a curious chipmunk.  
"What for? It's disgusting down there," the boy drawled.

"Fine, don't come if you're afraid of a little dirt," Curtis baited him. And as sure as ever, Edgar raised his hands in protest.

"I didn't say that now, did I. 'Course I'm coming," the kid hurriedly added.

Curtis had to grin to himself. As much as Edgar wanted to be seen as an independent young man he still loved to follow Curtis around like a shadow, just like he has done since he was little.

Even Before.

The smile slipped from his lips, when the memories slammed back at him. It happened sometimes and there was nothing he could do to stop this torture that his own mind put him through. Probably because he deserved it.

After all, he had killed Edgars' mother.

Not officially of course, otherwise he would be rotting in jail. But deep down he knew it was all on him.

Flashback

He had lived in the apartment for as long as he could remember, recently taken the contract over from his granddad after he died. There was no connection to his birthparents whatsoever, but that was just fine with Curtis.

He would turn 19 in a couple of months, soon to be done with school. He had taken a job on the side, earning what he needed for living on his own.

Also, there was this new girl who had moved into the flat opposite of his. She was a some years older than him, maybe in her mid-twenties, but it didn't show because she was such a frail little thing. Pretty though and very kind.

Her name was Meredith and sometimes she came over in the evening to cook dinner for both of them. Curtis wasn't sure how it had started but most likely because they both were lonely. They weren't in love and they did not get involved with each other romantically. They just longed for some company.

When she came, she always brought her little son with her. Usually the 3 year old stared at Curtis for a while before asking him as many questions as his imagination would provide. Which was a lot.

Curtis didn't mind though.

What bothered him was Meredith' smackhead boyfriend and father of the child. He didn't live with her but when he was around there was usually a lot of yelling and the girl would be covered in colourful bruises for the next days until he went off again.

Curtis wished someone wold step up and give the asshole a taste of his own medicine. But he was not that someone.

It happened one night, after Curtis had stumbled in after a night out with friends, some illegal alkohol and a group of college girls. He was properly wasted and ready to fall into his bed to pass out.

He was about to open the door to his flat when Meredith too crept out into the hallway, silent like a cat, the sleeping boy in her arms. Her lip was split open and blood tickled down her forehead into her left eye.

"Curtis," she whispered pleadingly. "Can you drive me to the hospital? I think I need a doctor," her voice wavered a little, maybe she was in a lot of pain maybe even beginning to go into shock.

"That bastard," Curtis slurred out. By now he was holding onto the door handle for stability.

"Please Curtis?" She asked him again.

There was the train station right opposite of their building but he knew that she was afraid to ride on it alone in case of assault.

"All right then," he decided. That was about the last thing he remembered before waking up in hospital, his head pounding and one arm in a solid cast. The little boy, Edgar was sleeping next to him, curled up on his side.

They told him there had been an accident, no one really saw what happened but the car was smashed against a streetlamp and the boys' mother dead on impact.

Apparently Edgar was the only one who miraculously was not injured and had been conscious the whole time, screaming his little lungs out for someone to help his mom and Curtis. Nobody came for them for hours and the horror and hopelessness had been burned into the child's mind forever.

The paramedics had wrongly assumed he was Edgar's father and after prying the boys little hands off the cold corpse of his mother they thought it best to leave him with Curtis.

There was no investigation. No one cared that the young woman had died so soon before her time, no parents asking for her, no friends either.

Edgar stayed with Curtis. It was nuts really, how little interest there was in the circumstances.

Child services came to the hospital and looked the boy up and down, deciding that he was well enough cared for and left it at that, either didn't mind that Curtis wasn't even related to Edgar or they thought that there were enough other children who needed their attention more.

So they went home together. In the beginning Curtis couldn't even look at Edgar but after a while he got used to having the kid around. Always chatting and running after him and the same terrors almost every night.

It wasn't easy, having to grow up instantly but Curtis could not bring himself to abandon Edgar. After all it was his fault for messing up both of their lives.

The scumbag father never once returned to the flat, maybe not even knowing that Meredith had died.

Gilliam, the caretaker, had opened up the girls' flat so Edgar could collect what little toys he had and Curtis had gone looking for clues about where Meredith had belonged. But there was nothing. Not even a birth certificate from the kid.

So, from then it was Edgar and Curtis. United by guild and helplessness.

-—-

"Curtis! There's a lady on the phone for you. Sounds important," someone yelled all over the building site.

The other workers started with the wolf-whistling as soon as Curtis made his way down on the cage from the upper level of the half finished building. He had just been welding metal and still wore his heavy-protection gloves and mandatory hardhead.

Shrugging both off before entering the foreman's little hut, he took the phone over from his boss.

"Yes?"

"Oh Curtis, you gotta come down to the school. Edgar has been in a fight and you need to take him home," he recognised Tanya's voice almost instantly. She was one of his neighbors and as it happened a substitute teacher at Edgar's school.

The man groaned. "I really can't Tanya, I'm working. Can it wait until later?"

There was a pause on the other end of the phone. "I think - Curtis I think they want to call child services. I know the headmaster told you she would do it if there was more trouble from him. And boy, if he's not in trouble," she informed him.

"What did he do?" Curtis already dreaded the answer. There was always one thing or the other going on because Edgar was the most nerve grating person he had ever known.

"I told you, he's been in a fight- with one of the footballers! And guess who started it!?"

He closed his eyes in frustration. God damn Edgar! He should really let that little punk get a taste of the system, let him find out if any foster parents would tolerate his shit.

But of course he wouldn't. After all, his bond with Edgar was sealed with his mothers blood.

"Right, I'm on my way," he told her angrily and slammed down the phone.  
Then he turned to his boss, who didn't even pretend that he hadn't been eavesdropping on the whole conversation.

"Mike, I need to go-"  
The foreman held up his hands. "Yeah, yeah. Go fetch the kid from school and chew out his sorry ass. But obviously you gotta work longer tomorrow to make up for the hours."

Mike had already gone back to work on his numbers and Curtis left the hut quietly. He and Mike knew each other since he had started working in construction when they were both teenagers. Curtis doing the odd, part-time jobs any idiot could do while the other teen was being groomed to take over the company from his dad one day.

They were different as could be but both the youngest among the workers, they hung out together most days.

So after Curtis had dropped out of school to provide for Edgar and himself, Mike's dad gave him a full-time job in construction and Mike kept him on after he took over from his father.

It truly was helpful to be friendly with the boss, even though Mike was a pompous ass most of the time.


	2. Chapter 2

He heard Edgar long before he saw him. Rounding the corner to the headmasters office - a spot he had avoided well enough as a student himself but had lost count about how many times he had been summoned here because of Edgar.

And there he was. Still in the same sweatpants and jumper from this morning and arguing with hissed snarls and quick angry gestures in front of the black woman that had requested Curtis to come.

She spotted him first. "Thank the lord, you're here! There is just no reasoning with him. I'll let the headmaster know you've arrived," Tanya glared at the boy one last time, successfully silencing him and marched off towards the office.

Edgar now slouched against the wall and found a sudden interest in his shoes, not daring to look up at Curtis.

His face showed the telltale signs of the fight, bloodied nose - now dried up and starting to swell, blackening eye and a split on his upper lip.  
Curtis would pity him, if it wasn't for the boys expression, set between a pout and a scowl that the older man knew all too well.

Taking the spot Tanya had abandoned just now, he gave the kid a half-hearted smack over the side of his head. "What was it this time? And it better be good because if I had to leave work for just some of your shit, you will be sorry," he told the kid, his voice low but dangerous.

Slowly Edgar lifted his gaze to him and instead of the expected piss and vinegar attitude, he saw tears shimmering in the boy's eyes.

Before they could talk any further, Tanya opened the door and called them in.

-—-

"I will have to let you know, as I did on many of your previous visits, that there is an order which has to be obeyed," the headmaster lectured them in her annoying high voice. Her lips were coated in deep red lipstick that only added to her repulsive appearance. Headmaster Mason loved to hear herself talk and the order of the school was one of her favourite topics.

Curtis noticed the kid roll his eyes, he probably heard the same speech every day via the announcement.

Unfortunately the woman saw it as well.  
"Yes, dear boy, the order! One does not go about and disrupt it by assaulting the poor captain of the football team,"

"But he-" Edgar tried to defend himself

"No! You will not interrupt. You are a very rude boy and should learn your place. The only thing saving you from being expelled is that the other young man persuaded his father not to press charges. You put him in hospital after all," she all but screeched by now.

"It is most outrageous and I should really inform the authorities this time because clearly, you are not able to control your child," she spat at Curtis.

Again, before the man could open his mouth to get a word in, the headmaster went on. "This will be your last warning indefinitely! One more mishap, concerning pupils or teachers alike and it will be my pleasure to see him placed in a corrective home for unruly children."

Edgar flinched but Curtis let out a relieved breath, he hadn't known he's been holding.

But even with this one last chance, he wasn't sure it would be enough to make Edgar realize what was at stake. It was going to be a long day if they were going to have a talk about it later.

"Ehem," Mrs. Mason interrupted his thoughts. "Even though, I will have to suspend Edgar as a punishment. I think 3 weeks should suffice this time. Good day to you!" She stood up suddenly, shook Curtis' hand with her own spidery fingers and waved them off until they closed the door behind them.

"What a bitch-" Edgar groused but Curtis grabbed his arm firmly, making the boy yelp in surprise. "Didn't you listen to a word she said? I know you're not stupid, so don't act like a fool. Get your stuff and meet me at the car. And Edgar, don't make me wait for you!"

The boy all but flew off towards his locker and Curtis looked after him while running a hand over his face. He was not made for this parenting thing.

"You're doing just great, honey. I think a saint would loose their patience with Edgar. That boy just knows how to push the right buttons, yours included," Tanya told him honestly. She was leaning against the copy-machine casually, waiting for some of the worksheets to finish but watching him with her sharp knowing eyes.

"You think I don't know that? Wait until you have one of those critters at home and then we talk again," the man shot back at her but without any heat. Tanya was one of the good ones, gentle and with a good heart. Strict too, if the kids needed it but they all loved and respected her, Edgar included.

She laughed at him. "Yeah right, you think after spending all this time with kids I really have to get one of my own? I don't think so."

He scratched his beard, as if in thought. "Well, I definitely never wanted one of them either and look at the mess I'm in," he gave her a smile that turned out looking more like a frown.

"I don't know about that. All I know is that you have done right by the girl. Meredith would have wanted you to be the one raising him. Not his good for nothing father or to get stuck in some orphanage," the black woman told him firmly.

Like most of the resident neighbors she knew, or guessed the circumstances of the car crash and why Edgar came to live with him. Even though no one ever told the police. That's not what they did, they took care of their own.

"Shh, why don't you shout a little louder, I'm sure they haven't heard you in Europe yet," Curtis looked over his shoulder but saw the office door still firmly shut.

"Do you know what was going on between Edgar and the other guy? Mason said something about the hospital. Don't get me wrong, I know that the kid can hold his own in a fight but beat up a footballer?" He asked her curiously. They had started walking down the hallway towards the exit.

Tanya shrugged her shoulders. "No clue, sorry. But whatever it was, I'm sure that other boy deserved most of it. It hasn't been easy for Edgar lately. There is something brewing, I'm telling you," she told him at the main entrance. She gave him a quick hug and peck on the cheek as a goodbye. "Come see me later and let me know what's happening with the heating," then she marched back into the school.

Curtis glanced over to his car, where the boy was slumped against the hood, quickly stubbing out a cigarette when he noticed his audience.

Upon reaching the car, he snatched the boy by his shirt and after ripping the passenger site open forcefully, sat him down on the seat, before slamming the door shut again.

Then he stalked over to his own side and silently counted to ten before getting in as well. He just sat there for a while, tightly gripping the wheel and contemplating his next move.

Edgar stared at him as if he had lost his mind. "Hey man look, it's not a big deal-"

"Shut the fuck up Edgar. For once in your life, be quiet or I swear I will do something we will both regret," the bearded man's eruption startled the kid into silence.

The drive home was silent and even upon entering their flat the two companions remained quiet. Edgar was fidgeting in the doorway, stepping from one foot on the other and wiping his hands on his trousers nervously.

Finally Curtis took pity on him. "Go have a shower. And put your clothes in the hamper, they are filthy. You will be doing the laundry tomorrow. And the rest of the chores too for the next weeks that you're suspended."

The boy looked nearly relieved with the order and fled into the bathroom.

Curtis sat down on the counter and let his head fall into his hands. He didn't know what to do. Edgar wasn't his son, not his own flesh and blood. The boy was aware of that, even though he knew not to ask about many details.

How should he make sure the kid stayed on the right path if he himself had build their lives on nothing but mistakes.

There weren't many parental figures in Curtis youth, except for his grandparents. And after his gran had died, there were only him and his granddad left. They didn't have the same sort of relationship that was between Edgar and himself. Whereas he and the boy had grown into a brotherly relationship, his grandfather was a hard man who tolerated no nonsense. And that was fine with Curtis, at least he knew what to expect.

So, that was probably the main problem. He had been trying to be a friend, a brother and a parent in one person so it was no wonder that Edgar didn't know what his actions would bring in consequence.

So he had to think about what the boy needed right now.

And he would have to make his decision sooner then he would have liked because Edgar chose this moment to quietly close the bathroom door. There he stood in his boxers and one of Curtis' old t-shirts that nearly went down to his knees, looking nervously at his friend. He looked so very young right now. Young and innocent if it wasn't for the eye that was fully black now and lightly swollen nose.

"Come here Edgar," Curtis called him over to stand before him. The kid for once obeyed without delay.

The man softly laid one hand on the kids neck and looked at the damage. "Did you see the nurse at school?" he questioned the boy.

Edgar licked his lips nervously before answering. "Yeah, it isn't broken or anything and it doesn't really hurt too badly anymore," he was on the way back to his old cockiness, Curtis could hear in his voice.

"Good, because you will have something else that will hurt even more," the man now tightened his grasp, so the boy could not wriggle out from under his fingers and marched them both over to the kids sofa bed.

"No! You can't beat me up! I'm going to run away," the kid shouted his thread out loud and tried to scamper away.

Curtis actually laughed. This boy was going to make him grey before his time.

"Oh hush your breath, you little idiot. What you are about to receive is nothing short of what you deserve," the man decided to stop wasting time and sat down quickly, taking the surprised boy with him and snugly placing him over his lap.

Edgar realized what was about to happen to him and gave a shriek filled with dread.

"No Curtis, please. You don't have to do this. Honestly I'll do better. Please I'll be good," he was nearly frantic by now. His legs started to kick out in an attempt to get away but Curtis quickly trapped them with his own.

Instead of countering the pleas with words, Curtis decided to let actions speak for themselves and started covering the child's bottom in swift smacks.

Edgars answer was a howl like a wounded animal before hissing in pain. "Ow- Curtis it hurts. You're doing it so- ow, so hard!" the boy squealed.

"Well, that's the one point of the spanking," the man punctuated each of his words with a sound slap.

"The other is that you will listen to what I have to say," two more smacks landed on each cheek. "Firstly, you don't threaten me with running away, is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," was the meek reply.

Curtis nodded to himself. "Good, because I care what happens to you and you do already know that," he started spanking on the top part of the boys thighs now and Edgars breath was hitching up in response.

"Secondly, you will do better in school. No more slacking and definitely no more fighting. And no mouthing-off to the teachers!" he slowed his pace and took out some force because he could hear the kid was nearly at the end of his rope. He wanted to discipline him, not bruise him more. "And of course the smoking too, it stops right now!"

By now Edgar was wailing into his own arms, which he had crossed over and hidden his face into, his back starting to shake with sobs.

Curtis halted the punishment for the moment.

"Why did you attack that boy, Edgar?" But the child didn't move his head from his arms, shaking it stubbornly from side to side while he tried to still his cries.

So Curtis gave some more slaps onto the fabric-clad bottom and prompted another flood of sobbing.  
Seeing this wouldn't get them any further he stopped and sat the boy up on his lap, wrapping his arms tightly around the boy's slight frame and tucking Edgar's head under his chin. The kid cried in ernest now and Curtis rubbed small circles up and down his back to calm him a bit.

"He said-" the boy started breathlessly. "He said, my mother sold me- sold me to you for meth. And you bought me because you were into little kids," after that, Edgar continued to cry into Curtis chest, quickly wetting the shirt with his tears.

Curtis was actually too stunned to answer. There was only one thing that he could think of.

"Bullshit!"

At that the boy gave a wet laugh but didn't look up. "Yeah, that's what I said but he kept talking shit at me," he confessed.

"So you put him in the hospital?" Curtis was actually curious how that had happened.

"That wasn't my fault. He knocked himself unconscious when he stumbled over his own feet chasing me down," the kid told him sheepishly.

"I did punch him first though," he added honestly. It seemed the spanking had provoked a truthfulness in the kid that Curtis hoped would keep a while longer.

He kissed the top of Edgars head. It felt like a long time ago that they had been this close and the boy actually leaned heavily into him, soaking up all the attention he could get.

He would clear this fact up later with having been emotionally confused at that time even though a 14 year old kid should not need to have to find an excuse for love.

"You know kiddo, I'm far from perfect. I'm not a good person-" the man slowly started but Edgar interrupted him hotly.

"That's not true, you're the best Curtis. I don't care what happened all those years ago, I really don't. So what if I don't have a mother or a real father but I got you," he declared, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Curtis could not find any words to correct the boy, to tell him that he was wrong. So he held him tightly and swallowed the tears that threatened to escape his own eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

After Edgar had a bit of time to recover from his punishment, Curtis woke him up and together they ventured down to the lower levels of the building. Of course the elevators hadn't worked properly in years and most of the time, people chose not to ride in them, in case they broke down in mid-movement and would get stuck for hours.

The pair went down the last few steps into the tunnels that spread out into a whole labyrinth under the house, one lone flickering light directing them onwards into the caretakers realm.

"Gilliam, are you here?" Curtis called out. Edgar was practically glued onto his back, walking quickly to keep up with the man's longer strides. He would do his utmost, not to be lost down here.

One of the heavy doors at the far back opened with a screech but no one came to greet them.

"Maybe he's not at home, we should come back tomorrow," Edgar whispered and his breath puffed out in front of him like a little white cloud. Curtis gave a chuckle and hooked his arm around the kid's shoulders, sharing a bit of his warmth.

"No, he's here somewhere. Come on, I'll even protect you from the rats," he laughed and pulled the boy along.

"Haha, you're a shitty comedian, you know that? Man, I fucking hate rats," Edgar muttered while looking around the floor in disgust, while trudging on alongside Curtis.

It seemed to feel a bit warmer the further they got into the maze of tunnels, still following the distant shine of a lamp.

Gradually the tunnel ended and gave way to a more spacious storage unit, which had evidently been turned into some sort of living room. A fire was burning brightly in a small oven and bathed the the room in an orange shine.

The man in question was sat in an ancient looking armchair, laying his book down when he noticed his visitors. "Ah it's you Curtis, I've been wondering when you would come about. And you've brought young Edgar," the old man gave a wrinkled smile and made to stand. After two tries he finally managed to push himself up, standing on his one prosthesis and good leg while leaning heavily on a cane.

Edgar looked at him warily, most definitely not hiding behind his guardian and also surely not frightened of the old man's appearance. Well, maybe only a little - even though he had known Gilliam for nearly all his life, the man still crept him out a bit.

Curtis had told him that Gilliam lost his leg and one arm in a sort of work accident involving some sort of explosion but didn't know any details either.  
The old man lived down here alone and looked after the building, as well as it was possible. Fixing whatever was in need to be repaired.

Rumor had it, he had been the first tenant to sign old man Wilford's contract.

And for some unknown reason, Curtis seemed to respect Gilliam profoundly, like an unofficial leader, someone to go to whenever a problem needed solving.

So Curtis went and shook the caretakers' good hand, giving him a smile in greeting.

"Hello Gilliam, it's been a while. Have you had the time to look around?" Curtis asked the old man with interest.

Gilliam nodded his head in thought. "Yes, it seems someone has found their way into one of the maintenance rooms, which I keep locked at all times, mind you - and decided to wreck some havoc. I've got the spare parts, so if you would come with me Curtis, these old hands could do with a little help," the caretaker told them and went off in his shuffling walk, expecting Curtis to follow.

"Wait here, it's warm and don't think it will take too long," the bearded man told the boy over his shoulder.

Edgar shot him a single frightened look but stayed behind, remembering his earlier promise to behave better.

He looked around the cluttered room, filled up equally with books and spare parts, that probably only Gilliam knew what to use them for.

Suddenly hearing a rustle and faint scratching sounds from behind the bookcase, the boy decided to take his chances at disobeying and ran after the two men.

-—-

"So it seems your boy has found himself in a spot of trouble lately," the older man stated knowingly.

They had been working on the damaged console together and Curtis finished up on the last busted pipe. Instead of answering straight away he shrugged his shoulders.

"Yes, he's been fighting at school. But somehow I think you already knew that," Curtis let out slowly.

Gilliam chuckled behind him. "Hm, as you're aware my eyes and ears reach a bit further than I can actually manage to go."

Curtis looked at the other man and noticed for the first time in years, how much he had aged lately. His prosthetics had never seemed to bother him all that much, but the man's walk seemed painful and even slower then before. Gillian's face had always been friendly but now there were countless lines and wrinkles whenever the man smiled. He had become a very old man right before Curtis' eyes.

The caretaker cleared his throat, startling the younger man out of his thoughts. "I still think you did very well, taking Edgar under your wing. And I am confident that you two will sort out whatever problem he might be facing right now," Gilliam assured him fondly.

"Sometimes I'm not so sure. He's so headstrong and independent most of the time, I just don't know how to handle him," the bearded man admitted.

Gilliam waved him off with a shake of his head. "Nonsense! It is like I told you when you both returned home, right after the unfortunate accident. It was your duty and yours alone! And you have performed your task most admirable. Also I remember a certain child that wouldn't heed any advice either after his parents had abandoned him and from time to time, his grandfather had a good old talk with him," the old man smiled at Curtis again.

At the mention of his own childhood, Curtis felt a blush creep into his cheeks. "Ah, so you also know about that. You probably already knew I just had one of those 'talks' with Edgar myself then," it wasn't really a question, somehow Gilliam was always aware of what happened in and around the house.

The old caretaker clapped one hand on Curtis' shoulder. "Really, did you now? I imagine it left quite an impression on him. That boy will make a real father out of you after all," with that both men slowly started to walk back in comfortable silence.

-—-

He was lost. Just great, not only did he fail to find wherever Curtis and Gilliam had buggered off to but the way back to the exit as well.

"Fuckin great, lost down the bloody rabbit hole," Edgar muttered to himself. He always felt better if there was some sort of sound, even if it was his own voice because this way he wouldn't have to hear the other faint noises.

The boy was currently creeping down one of the corridors where he could at least follow another flickering light source. The problem was that most of the lamps had gone bust over the years and it must have been way too expensive to replace all of them. So there was the odd weak light every 50 meters or so. Sometimes he was forced to run through a dark stretch of the tunnel without seeing where he was going or what was hiding on the ground.

There had not been any doors off the sides for a while now and the ones he had passed were locked tightly. He should really go back but that would probably just get him lost somewhere else.

The boy shivered under his leather jacket and for a moment he wished he had brought a hat like Curtis. His hands were numb from the cold and he had them tucked under his armpits in an attempt to get warm, any ideas of having a smoke momentarily forgotten. If he was to stay down here all night they would probably only find his stiff frozen body in the morning. Maybe also missing a couple of rat-sized chunks.

The thought made him shiver even more. "Curtis? Gilliam? Can anyone hear me?," his shout echoed through the silence.

He listened but there were no answer. So the kid kept walking because he really didn't have any other choice. Suddenly there was a tiny gust of wind, making the small hairs on the back of his neck rise.

He whirled around and squinted into the semi-darkness. There wasn't anything, when a hand clamped over his mouth and prevented him from screaming out in fear.

The person held him tightly, squeezing his mouth shut and in turn pressing down on the injuries he had received in the fight. Edgar involuntarily whimpered in pain and the hand loosened before coming away fully. The boy turned around slowly to face whoever was with him now.

And gave a shaky breath when he recognized Gilliam's nephew, Grey.

"Jesus fucking Christ, man. I nearly shat myself! Are you trying to give me a heart attack or what," Edgar gave the other teenager a rough shove and glared at him.

The young man gave him a grin that showed Edgar not the tiniest bit of regret or apology. Of course the teen stayed silent, Edgar knew that he couldn't talk even though he hadn't seen Grey in a while now. They used to go to the same school together but seeing as Grey was a couple of years older than Edgar, he had graduated already.

His hair was longer now and he seemed to have acquired more tattoos as well, because he pointed to his left wrist where the word 'follow' had been inked into.

How he wasn't cold in only the t-shirt was beyond Edgars understanding.

"You know I still remember most of the signs you showed me, so you don't have to do the stupid pointing thing," the younger boy bit out, even though he already started to walk after him.

There had been times, when they were younger, that they were forced into each others company. When they had to be looked after by some neighbor or another, for whatever reason. Sometimes schools were shut or they had both taken sick at the same time with neither of their guardians able to look after them.

They weren't friends but they certainly knew each other.

"The fuck are you doing down here anyways?" The younger boy asked, even though he knew Grey would not answer. It was better than the silence.

"You hang around this place now? I thought you had gone off to college and all that. Never even knew you were lurking around down here," Edgar continued his one-sided conversation while following Grey without paying much attention. It was of little use, seeing the other boy clearly knew where to go, taking turns left and right.

"So, you work with Gilliam now? Why couldn't you just help him fix that damn heating then?" the boy was babbling without giving it any real thought. "It's like Gilliam wanted to get Curtis to come down here to him-" Edgar paused and halted his walk.

A couple of meters ahead of him, Grey stopped too and looked back at Edgar over his shoulder. But he made no move to communicate.

"Wait, did he actually trick him to come down here?" Confusion was clearly written on the kid's face as he asked the mute now directly.

Grey stared at him with a blank face before shrugging one shoulder and then started to lead them through the tunnels again, longer strides and faster pace than before. The kid had to run to keep up.

"Bloody hell, I'm right aren't I?! What the fuck is going on? Hey, wait you miserable basta-" Edgar bit his tongue in mid sentence because they had arrived back at the main storage room and the two older men were waiting for them.

His agenda momentarily forgotten, Edgar instantly noticed the sour expression on Curtis' face and remembered the man's order for him to stay put. A sudden flashback to the spanking he had received just hours ago made him absentmindedly rub at his bottom, still stinging and sore.

But before either could say a word Gilliam clapped his good hand on Greys shoulder in praise. "Well done my boy, so you found our lost little lamb."

Edgar grimaced at being called a lamb, and a little one at that.

"I'm sure we have all had a long day filled with much excitement and I for sure can't wait to enjoy the evening now, reading a good book and listening to our newly repaired central heating bubble through the walls. Thank you again Curtis and you two boys have a good night," Gilliam cleverly used his farewell to lower the tension in the room.

And sure enough Curtis gave the old man a smile and shook his hand again. Grey just stared at Edgar and the boy wondered again about what he had learned down here. Nothing really, to be honest but there was this nagging feeling that it might be something after all.

Curtis gave him a non too gentle shove in the small of his back and Edgar started walking with him. When they reached the staircase the boy stopped again. "Don't you think it's strange for someone, who is not used to this labyrinth, to break into the one room that holds something as vital as the heating?" Edgar asked his friend in ernest.

Curtis sighed and rubbed his eyes, this day felt way too long already and he was too tired to listen to the kid's nonsense. "I don't care Edgar. I'm glad that it works again and that's it for now," he told the boy firmly.

"But it doesn't make any sense," Edgar stomped his foot angrily. Curtis gave him a withering look.

"You know what, drop it already! Why don't you run up to see Tanya for me, tell her that the heating is back on. She'll spread the word." Curtis was already climbing up the stairs not waiting for Edgar. "I have to go to work tomorrow, so I'll have an early night. Try not to make too much noise when you get in later."

The boy hopped up the steps behind him with an energy that could only be found in children.

"What? You mean I'm not grounded?" Edgar chimed up in surprise.

Curtis snorted. "No, what would be the point? I won't be here, so you can do whatever you please anyway. That's why I told Gilliam you will be happy to help him out for the next 3 weeks."

The boy gave a horrified shriek. "Why the hell would you do that? I hate it down there!"

"It's called punishment Edgar, you're not supposed to like it!" Curtis called over his shoulder without looking back but the boy was sure he was smirking at his plight.

"Try to behave yourself while you're at Tanya's," were Curtis' parting words.

The kid huffed under his breath.  
"Yeah, whatever!"

-—-

"I'm telling you Tanya, something weird is going on down there," the boy told her around a mouthful of pizza that he had been stuffing into his mouth with both hands.

With the amounts Edgar managed to shovel into himself, it was a wonder that he was so thin. Maybe she should bring him a little extra every day for lunchtime at school, just in case Curtis was struggling with money and not able to support the eating habits of a growing boy.

She smirked at him while he was leaning casually against the wall because the boy thought she didn't notice that he decided to eat his meal standing up. He would probably die of mortification if he knew that nearly the whole house heard him receive his earlier treatment.

He caught her smirk upon him and scowled. "Why can't anyone take me seriously? They were fucking suspicious."

"Don't you take that tone with me, young man. There is nothing suspicious about Gilliam. He's been looking after the house, after us, for as long as I can remember. You should show him some respect," she lectured him in her best stern teachers voice.

The kid was starting to get all worked up again. "Respect? What for? He's hiding down there while bloody Wilfort Inc is sending their bloodhounds after us," he didn't stop with his rant, even though the black woman shook her head in disapproval.

"And why is Curtis doing everything the old dude asks him to? He's never that nice with anyone!"

Ah, Tanya thought, that was the actual problem here. Edgar was jealous. The kid loved Curtis fiercely and with every fiber of his heart, that he could not understand why a different human being - a stranger really, would receive so much of Curtis' attention and approval.

"Oh baby, it's just that Gilliam knew Curtis grandparents. He knew Curtis as a boy, his carefree years even before-" she stopped herself and looked at the kid, who realized what she was about to say.

"Before me. Before I came along and messed up his life," Edgar filled in.

In two steps she was next to him and wrapped him into a nearly painful embrace, his greasy hands of no concern to her.

"Don't you dare think like that, you hear me boy?! Nothing that has happened was ever your fault and Curtis is very lucky to have you in his life. He might not always be able to show it but I know it's the truth!" Her voice had risen on it's own account and she gave Edgar a bit of a shake to drive her point home.

The kid for once, didn't now what to say. He just let himself being held by her.

After a moment he cleared his throat and started wriggling out of her grasp. "May I have the last slice?", he asked her more politely then she had ever heard him before.

"Of course," she laughed and ruffled his hair.

"So, Gilliam. He's been here from the beginning? Someone told me he even knew mad old Wilford himself," Edgar started again. Tanya thought he was like one of those little terriers, when they've bitten into something and just wouldn't let it go.

"I don't really know, I suppose he might have. I only moved in a little while before you and your ma," she told him, even though he knew this already.

The woman collected the dishes, piling them unto the sink and gave a muffled yawn. "I'm going to bed. Are you going home or sleep here tonight?" she asked the kid. Sometimes he would sleep over at her apartment, if he and Curtis had a row and needed some space from each other or on the rare occasion that the man would have female company over at theirs.

Tanya didn't mind, she was always happy to help those two boys out.

There was no answer and when she turned around she saw the boy had curled himself up on the two-seater and was fast asleep already. She covered him with a thick blanket and tenderly placed a kiss on his forehead, praying silently for a dreamless night.


	4. Chapter 4

"So, now that I have gained another helper, I think we should be done rather swiftly with our work for today," the caretaker spoke to them in his usual mild-mannered voice.

"Let me tell you what we've got so far, hm? Mrs. Wilson told me that the old gap on the roof must have reopened and it was leaking rather heavily into her bedroom. How about you see what you can do up there, Grey?" The young man nodded his head in agreement and quickly spun around to get himself the necessary tools for the task.

"And for young Edgar, how about you see if you can clear the path to the street from last nights snow? The sideways too if you may," Gilliam asked the younger boy but Edgar could hear that it wasn't exactly a negotiable choice.

Even though he still tried. "Why does Grey get to climb about on the roof and I have to do something boring like shovelling the bloody snow?" he argued stubbornly.

Gilliam leveled him with a look that Edgar could not interpret but probably the man wasn't used to backtalk, seeing that his nephew didn't speak at all and most other people didn't dare to out if respect.

"Well dear boy, we don't want to explain to Curtis why his young charge has broken every bone in his body after taking a tumble down the roof. Don't you agree?" the grandfatherly tone had left now and was replaced with a something more dangerous.

Edgar thought it was better not to anger him any further. "Yeah okay, but I didn't bring any gloves," the boy admitted.

Gilliam pointed his cane down one of the tunnels. "You'll find the shovel and a pair of thick gloves through the second door to the right. Try not to get lost again," the old man advised and shuffled towards his office.

Edgar pulled his jacked tight and trudged in the direction that Gilliam had shown him. At least today he had the sense to wear a thicker hoody underneath and could cover his ears if necessary. Well, it hadn't been his own choice exactly but as he returned to the flat in the morning, Curtis had left it on the table next to a bowl of cereal and a flashlight, as well as a note that told him to take it.

As annoying as it was to be told what to do, it was nice to know that his friend still took care of him, no matter what happened between them.

-—-

"Where the fuck is that stupid shovel?" The room was mostly dark like everything down in the cellar and Edgar had already stumbled over a couple of old broomsticks and a cardboard box but the snowplough was nowhere to be found.

He was searching with the shine of the flashlight but there was so much clutter around, he doubted he would find it anytime soon. He had already wasted most of his morning and it was starting to get cold again. "Great, just great," the kid muttered.

He was about to call quits and head back home when he the sound of a phone ringing startled him and nearly made him drop the flashlight. The teen could hear the ringing clearly and assumed it must be somewhere in this room, so he searched quickly. There, mostly hidden behind a broken shelf, was the old telephone, tightly fixed onto the wall.

It was still ringing shrilly and Edgar lifted the receiver to his ear tentatively and listened without making a sound, even though he could hear his own heart beating furiously. He could make out hear two men talking.

"Is it all ready?" One of the voices asked but Edgar was sure he had never heard it before in his life.

"Patience my good man. These things need time and I have to work slowly for nobody to notice and raise suspicions," now this voice on the other hand, he knew very well, it was Gilliam. The old man must be calling from his office and this line was accessible from this hidden phone as well.

"I've found the right man for the job, he'll be the perfect leader and everything is starting to take shape. You won't have to wait much longer," Gilliam assured the other voice. "You must be aware that we can't store everything in the same place, it would be very dangerous if someone should stumble upon it by accident."

"There isn't much time left, we will have to start today or the company will suffer huge losses," the other man snapped through the phone.

The company? Edgar wondered if they might be talking about Wilford Inc. It was the only thing that came to the boy's mind.

"Don't patronize me. I have done all what you asked of me in the past and I will continue to do so but don't even think you are in control here. I will tell you when I am ready, until then don't call me again," the line went quiet, Gilliam must have hung up on the other man.

Edgar stood, the phone forgotten but still tightly pressed to his ear and tried to process what he had just heard.

Something was happening. Something bad from the sounds of it.

Suddenly, out if the corner of his eye Edgar noticed the shovel he had been looking for and the gloves right next to them. No wonder he hadn't been able to find them, both were hidden by half a broken panel that hung from the wall.

The boy snatched up both items and then silently crept back to the staircase. He thought it might be better to get the work done first so he could come back to snoop around some more without making himself look suspicious in Gilliam's eyes.

-—-

Half way to the street, Edgar was working silently and deeply retreated into his own mind, shovelling snow left and right without paying much attention to his task.

"Hey watch it! You got me all covered, you ass!" a shrill voice pulled him back into the present.

He looked up to see a petit asian girl, standing in front of him, arms stemmed into her sides and sure enough her coat was covered in thick white snow. She scowled at him angrily.

"Oh sorry Yona, I didn't see you there," the boy let the shovel drop down to the ground and went to pat her off, making the snow fly into all directions.

"Stop it, you're making it worse," the girl snapped.

She slapped his hands away and stepped back to brush it down herself, more careful than the boy had done.

"Sorry," he told her again and shrugged his shoulders.

Yona was one of the kids from their building and maybe two years younger than Edgar. He wasn't too sure because she behaved like an adult in so many ways, speech and manners alike. He thought that someone told him that she was highly intelligent and that was the reason why she didn't go to school.

Her father had been a university professor back at - wherever the hell they came from. When they had fled their country to come to America, he couldn't find himself any work at the university. So he had started to homeschool his daughter while working nights, cleaning the local supermarket.

Edgar didn't see either of them very often because they prefered to stay indoors at home. Weirdos.

"I said, what were you thinking about?" The girl repeated her question loud and slowly, like she was talking to someone with half a brain.

He bristled a bit. "None of your damn business! Now scram, I'm busy," Edgar spat at her. But she didn't move, just stared at him intensely. "You're worried about something," the girl stated.

"I'm not! Don't you have to be somewhere that's not here?" He tried again to get rid of her.  
In return she smiled at him sweetly.  
"No I don't."

The boy groaned but before they could argue any further, a black van stopped a couple of meters from them and a group of burly men climbed out. Baseball bats and iron knuckles with them.

Edgar had never seen these men before but he knew exactly what the were. Bruisers, employed by Wilford Inc.

He weighted his chances and glanced at the girl standing next to him, frozen, her eyes wide and frightened.

Reaching a decision in the split of a second, Edgar grabbed her hand. "Run! And don't stop," he yelled and started pulling her with him while breaking into a run.

Both kids could hear the commotion and angry shouts behind them and knew they were being chased. Yona was surprisingly fast for a girl her size and light-footed too, she took the lead almost immediately.

They were still holding hands when Edgar suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back and the impact made him stumble and crash down into the snow. The girl skidded to a halt and stared at him in horror.

"Get up, get up! They are nearly here," she screeched.

The boy looked back and saw Yona was right. Also he knew that they would not make it in time to reach the safety of their house. He grabbed the bat that someone had actually thrown at the boy to bring him down and stood up with it, ready to face their attackers.

"Go, I'll hold them off," the boy ordered her. But Yona shook her head, she was scared but she couldn't just leave him there.

The older boy gave her a shove and she started running again, just in time as Edgar spun around, ready for the first man that approached him.

The man wore a mask over his face, as did the other four and Edgar could see him grin through the opening of the mouth.

"Leave us the hell alone, you bastard!" The boy screamed at him while gripping the wooden baseball bat tightly with both hands. He wasn't the most skilful batter but he would try his very best to leave a mark.

The man laughed and raised his hand, beckoning the kid to him. Edgar could see the brass knuckles glistening on both of the man's hands. His four friends had closed the distance as well and started to cycle around Edgar.

Outnumbered and pumping with adrenaline the boy gave another yell and swung his weapon fiercely. First they all assumed he would go for the man directly in front of him but Edgar dove low to his left and swung the bat upwards, catching another unprepared foe in the jaw.

The man howled and blood splattered into the snow. He might have bitten part of his own tongue off.

Before the boy could go for a second swing, he was grabbed from behind and a fist punched him hard into the kidneys. He gasped in pain and couldn't breath for a moment when he was abruptly forced to kneel in the snow.

His hood and weapon were yanked off him and someone grabbed his hair tightly, forcing tears into his eyes. The man he had hit was bleeding heavily from his mouth, made to bend down and spat into Edgars face. None of them said a word during the whole ordeal.

The kid closed his eyes because of the bloody gunk in his face and he knew they would beat him now into a messy pulp. His only consolation was that Yona must have reached safety by now.

Edgar didn't see the blow that struck him on the back of the head but while he bonelessly sagged forward into the snow he heard more shouting. Angry and full of hate, then others in pain and rage. It was too confusing and Edgar didn't attempt to understand what the hell was going on right now.

He laid on his side and blinked lazily into the snow, now tainted pink from someone's blood. Maybe it was his own.

And just before the boy lost the battle for consciousness he saw Yona's face shift into his vision. 

She had come back.

-—-

"Shh, don't try to move yet. Can you open your eyes for me Edgar?"

He knew that voice. But it wasn't his mother's, even though he had thought that would be the first thing after he had died.

The kid gave a shuddering sob. It was unfair, why wouldn't she come to him after he'd just been murdered?

He must have spoken aloud because the voice told him off. Curtis! That was who the voice belonged to.

"Edgar, you're not dead. You took a nasty blow to the head and were out for a while. I'm sure your mother will always wait for you," the man told him gently.

Blinking his eyes, Edgar recognized their flat and that he was currently laid up in Curtis' bed. His guardian was sitting next to him, face etched with worry but he gave the boy a tired smile when he saw the open eyes.

"Thank god. I thought you would sleep forever. How are you feeling?"

Edgar noticed there was a bandage on his forehead and a callused hand was softly stroking his hair. Curtis must have been really scared if he'd gotten so emotional.

"Like I've lost a fight with a bulldozer," the boy rasped out with a shaky huff.

Curtis smiled tightly at him in return, it was more of a grimace really.

"Well, sort of. You did a very brave and extremely stupid thing trying to go against those guys," the bearded man told the boy sternly.

Edgars eyes widened in sudden panic. "Yona, is she okay? I saw her, she came back but I told her to get to the house," Edgar explained frantically, his breath coming out to fast and his fingers clutching at Curtis' arm.

The man took his other hand away from Edgars hair and placed it on the boys chest in a soothing gesture. "Calm down, she's fine. She was the one that got you help in time. I was told she has an impressive set of lungs, nearly screamed the whole house down," the man quietly told the kid.

"Her father, some other neighbors and Grey went to fend off the thugs, beat them as good as they got. Andrew lost a couple of teeth during the brawl but they got to you in time. And for that I'm very glad! I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you," Curtis looked so sad and defeated it nearly broke Edgars heart.

The man was probably still beating himself up for spanking the boy so thoroughly and inflicting pain on him even before the men came and did their part. Edgar could read it in his eyes.

"It's not your fault," the boy mumbled and Curtis squeezed his hand in return.

The door then opened and Tanya poked her head in. As soon as she saw Edgar was awake she broke into a smile and was at the bed in two steps. "Don't ever do that to us again! We were so worried about you, baby," she whispered and gave him a kiss on the cheek. The boy just smiled at her in return, not knowing what to say.

Through the open door came now the distinct sounds of people trying to be quiet while they waited. Muffled conversations and feet walking up and down their small living room.

Noticing Edgar's confused look Tanya spoke again. "We've all been waiting for you to wake up. They wouldn't go home without knowing that our hero here was all right."

"Yeah, some hero," Edgar scoffed unhappily.

"You stop right there, boy! We are very proud of what you did to defend Yona. There was no way in hell you could have won that fight but you did your very best. And you are still alive, that's all that matters," the dark-skinned woman emphasised her speech by putting her hands on both sides of his face, forcing the boy to look at her.

He gave her a tiny nod and she released him again. "I'm gonna tell that lot to bugger off now so you can rest some more. And Curtis-" she pointed a finger sharply in the man's direction,"you will get him to the hospital in anything changes! I'm still not too happy that we didn't bring him in the first place," with that she left and Edgar looked at Curtis who had tiredly raked his hands over his face again. Recently he did that a lot.

"If I had brought you to the hospital they would have arrested me for child abuse more than likely," the man told him truthfully.

Edgar supposed he must have been a pretty sight, black and blue in the face, probably a cracked rib and gash on his head.

Curtis was right, the police would only have taken one look at him, old and new injuries all over and without further delay would have put the man in custody.

That also meant no one had bothered calling in the law to get those scumbags arrested. They would return.

Curtis must have thought something along those lines as well. "There is change in the air. The neighbors decided they will not stand by, while Wolford Inc is sending killers after children. They have gone too far this time. The bastards will come back and there will be many of them but we shall be ready to face them."

Curtis had started to pace the room like a caged panther. His shoulders tense and fists flexing by his side.

Suddenly something tugged at Edgars subconscious mind and without thought he asked the right question. "Who is going to lead us?" The boy whispered.

Curtis stopped and locked eyes with the boy. "I will!"

Frightened and overwhelmed because he was not sure what it was that made the alarm go off in his head at those words, Edgar tiredly shut his eyes and tears leaked out between closed lids, rolling down his cheeks. So Curtis went to sit with the kid again and resumed stroking Edgar's hair.

Somehow it felt like a goodbye.


	5. Chapter 5

For the next week, Curtis didn't go to work. He told his boss that Edgar had been hurt badly in an accident and that he had to look after his boy. 

Mike wasn't happy about it and made a big show of reminding Curtis how much he owed him for this favour but the bearded man couldn't have cared any less. 

Even if Mike were to fire him, he could always get another job. It wasn't important. The thing that mattered now was to make a stand. To let Wilford Inc know that they were united. Many mouths to voice their protest and double the amounts of fists to show it. 

Of course they could have involved the police but many of the neighbors were wary of the long arm of the law, justice hadn't served them before so why should it now. 

No, it was the building against their oppressors. Not longer willing to tolerate the constant threat and assaults. 

It was the right thing to do. Their only choice really.

At least according to Gilliam it was. And whatever Gilliam proposed, Cutis and the others were most likely to agree with. 

After the attack on Edgar, when the boy was still out cold and no one really knew what to do, it was the old caretaker who had summoned Curtis and advised him on what course of action to take.

It wasn't that Curtis was the most logical choice for a leader, seeing that he usually chose not to get too involved but then he had set eyes on Edgar's beaten and too still form. There was a sudden fire starting to flare behind Curtis' eyes, roaring so brightly even Tanya took a step back when she noticed the change in him.

This man would not rest before justice was done. 

Edgar was scared of this new Curtis. Well, not of him, obviously, but he was scared about what could happen to him if he didn't get some of that fire under control. It might even burn him to the ground.

After a whole day of having to stay in bed, Edgar was allowed to be up and about again under the condition that he was to take it easy and rest every couple of hours. Which of course he didn't but it was just too nerve wrecking, trying to keep the kid down. He was fidgety and a source of endless energy on a good day, so staying still and forcing him to be in bed didn't work out that well for anyone involved. 

Mostly, Curtis was downstairs with Gilliam, making plans and preparing for the next attack that everyone knew was due sometime soon.

There was a busy coming and going in the lower levels, a whole network of people established the safety in and around the building and reports were given regularly. Weapons had been collected, mostly work tools, kitchen knives and one or two guns. Someone had even brought a samurai sword. 

If the police were to ask later, it was a spontanious act of self defence.

The children had been split into two groups. The older kids that went to school were collected together by a set group of adults and guarded back and from the house, while the younger ones were watched by a couple of stay-at-home mothers and elderly people during the day. For safety reasons, nobody was supposed to be by themselves at any time.

"Where are you going? You are supposed to be resting," Yona's calm voice came directly from behind Edgar, startling him.

The boy whirled around and threw a dark look at her. "Not so loud!" He shushed her hurriedly. He had felt so certain that no one noticed him slipping away this time and it was most disappointing to see his attempt had failed again. 

She grinned at him expectantly and folded her arms. "So, where are WE going?"

"We, are not going anywhere! You will go back to the toddler-club and I'll do something else," the boy told her firmly in a commanding sort of voice that had been directed at him many times before. 

She shook her head just as firmly. "I'm coming with you. Look at what happened last time when I left you by yourself," the girl told him earnestly. 

Edgar nearly growled at her. "I was protecting YOU!"

"True and now I'm in your debt. My mother always said that it was very important to be grateful and act accordingly. So again, where are we going?" It seemed that Yona just wasn't to be persuaded to leave the boy be.

Edgar sighed but knew that he really didn't have a choice, either he took her with or she would go and bust him. And he really couldn't stand another minute amongst the little kids who were either crying or running around like maniacs.

"Fine," he all but whined and started trudging down the hallway towards the ladder that served as a fire exit. Yona followed him silently like a shadow.

The boy quickly opened the window and they climbed outside onto the metal railing. Yona pulled the hood of her coat up over her head and Edgar zipped his jacked up tightly when an icy gust of wind left both children shivering. There was more snow due today and the air felt thin and crisp already.

"It's like this. I am going down to the maze underground to look around a bit. But I don't want anyone to know what I'm doing there," he explained while they were carefully climbing down. The metal bars were slippery and neither of them wanted to fall, it was still quite a long descent down.

"So you are looking for something? Can't you just ask your father?" She caught Edgar off guard with her question.

The boy turned around sharply and stared directly into her eyes, they were a rich brown colour, nearly black and shaped like two flower petals. They were quite pretty, he thought.

"Curtis is not my dad. He's my friend! And I don't think he will listen to me. Gilliam has gotten into his head with this whole 'defending the weak' agenda going on right now. I just know there is something fishy going on and I have to find out what it is," he told her in one go without taking a breath. It was an ability of his that could drive most of his teachers up the wall.

The girl thought about it for a moment and then nodded. "Let's go on then, my father is sleeping right now but I have to get back soon or he will worry," she accepted without questioning his motives. 

Both made it down to the ground in a couple of minutes and Edgar led them away from the house. "There are many other entrances into the tunnels because they stretch out so widely. I think it's for safety reasons, in case of a fire or collapse or some shit like that. But I only know this one door because Curtis showed me once," they stopped on a wide field next to a shoddy looking playground. "Curtis also told me that the architectural blueprints had vanished when the old Wilford died and no one knows now where all the exits are. Maybe Gilliam is the only one who actually remembers."

The boy was kicking at the snow with his feet. "It's here somewhere. Sort of a metal trapdoor. Ah," the last kick was rewarded with a tinny sound and Edgar dropped to his knees and shoveled the snow away with his hands. True enough, there was a rusty metal square on the ground with a heavy looking lock securely set in place.

Yona looked at the padlock and back at Edgar but didn't speak. He grinned at her just as silently and fished a small, thin object out of his pocket. After a couple of twists and turns in the keyhole the lock opened with a sound click. 

"I kept losing the keys to my locker at school and Curtis got one of the neighbors to show me how to pick the lock. The dude used to be a damn safecracker," the boy grinned at her.

Edgar slid the padlock into the pocket of his jacket and lifted the trapdoor with a grunt. "Open sesame or whatever. You go first so I can close the door again after we're in," he told her.

There was yet another flickering light source just below the stepladder so the darkness was only partially. Edgar produced the flashlight out of his other pocket and gripped it tightly without turning it on. Yona didn't seem too fazed with the lack of sunlight and the boy decided to swallow his fears as well.

"Where to now?" The small asian asked while looking around curiously. 

Edgar scratched his head in thought. The bandage had come off already but there was still some scab on the back of his head. "I think we will have to circle back toward the house and then look around from there. Don't fall behind," he told her unnecessarily because she had already taken the lead and the boy just followed her. 

With Yona in the front, Edgar had some time to think. As soon as he had woken up from the beating there had been this feeling of dread, a sense of foreboding in a way but nothing ge could put his finger on. Then Gilliam had been calling on Curtis and this little sense of doubt had started to throb in his heart and the boy somehow began to remember bits and pierces from the conversation between the old caretaker and the unknown caller. It all seemed like a long time ago but it made him wonder.

Something weird was definitely going on and the tunnels were the place to start. 

When a hand was placed on his chest to halt him, Edgar did look up and cleared his head from the lingering thoughts. "What?" He whispered towards Yona.

The girl stood with her head tilted a little to the side, a look of concentration on her face while she listened carefully. And sure enough there were jumbled voices to be heard a little distance away. It must be one of the patrols that Gilliam had insisted on being placed around here.

The boy pushed past Yona. "All right, we don't want anyone to know that we're here so we will try to stay out of the light as much as possible," Edgar whispered and pressed himself nearer to the wall into the shadows. Yona did the same and they crept forward. 

Suddenly there was another noise coming from behind the children as well. No voices this time but the heavy stomping of boots. Many of them, judging by the sound of the echo that was thrown back at them from the walls.

"Shit!" 

The kids shared a look. It had to be the mercenaries, coming to clear out the building and probably ready to fight whoever stood in their way. They must have had the exact same idea as Edgar, coming from one of the secret entries into the underground. How they knew where to enter and which tunnels to take, the boy didn't know.

"What are we going to do? We have to warn everyone, they don't know there is going to be an ambush," Edgar proposed while trying to control his rising panic. 

He was about to start running but already at this moment the first of the assailants rounded the corner on the far end of their tunnel.

The kids shrank further into the shadows, trying to flatten themselves as much to the wall as possible and right there Yona felt an unseen door handle jab into her back.

She tried the handle but the door wouldn't budge. "Edgar, can you open the door behind me? It's shut tight," she hissed at the boy but he already turned with his dietrich out. 

"Hurry! They will see us soon," she breathed in the boys ear, not daring to speak any louder. She was tightly pressed onto his back trying to see if he was making any progress but it was too dark to make out anything. The girl figured he couldn't see either but was poking around blindly.

"Hang on, nearly-" Edgar mumbled back through gritted teeth. 

"There!" The door swung open and both children fell on on top of each other into the darkness.

Edgar kicked the door shut and not a second too soon, when the heavy boots started stomping past.

"That was close. You think anyone saw us?" Yona asked while carefully clambering to her feet. For a moment it was pitch black in the room but Edgar switched on his torch and was shining the light around slowly. 

The door stayed shut. "I think they missed us. The entrance was practically invisible and they would already be upon us by now if anyone had noticed," the boy spoke trying to calm both their nerves. 

Yona started to move around, following the circle of light.

"What is this stuff," she wondered aloud. 

Directing the torch towards the side both kids fell quiet again. 

There, near the wall was a pile of grey plastic bags, neatly stacked on top of each other. Also a lot of wires sticking out everywhere, connecting the blocks with each other and coming together at a strange looking device. There were several buttons and switches. Edgar moved closer to have a look.

"Oh Jesus fuckin christ! Is that a bomb?" The boy moaned while slapping his hands together on top of his head.

Suddenly next to him, Yona looked upon the contraption with interest, not a hint of fear coming of her. "I think it is. Self-made by the look of it. And quite a lot of C4 as well. Someone knew what they were doing here, I think it's meant to level the whole house in one go," she mused.

Edgar stared at her in awe and horror at the same time. "How the hell do you know that? I didn't realize that building bombs was the new trending hobby for girls. Whatever happened to dolls and unicorns?" The boy nearly shouted at her. 

Without bothering to reply Yona took the torch from his hand and squatted down next to the cluster of cables. "I can't see a timer but I think someone must have a manual release somewhere," she told him.

The girl's eyes were racing all over the device and the many connections, trying to take everything in and even without Edgar knowing, memorizing the whole layout.

"In the movies they always have to decide between cutting the red or the blue cable but these are all black," the boy had squatted down next to her and was about to lightly poke one of the wires with his finger when Yona snatched his arm in a death grip. "Don't! It might go off if it's disturbed," she hissed out warningly.

"Geez, fine! But what are we going to do? The fighting is probably in full swing already and we're sitting here staring at this fucking bomb," the boy snapped back at her while pulling his arm loose.

"I have to find my father, he will know what to do. He can disable the detonation mechanism," Yona sounded very sure of it but Edgar was not happy. 

"Wasn't your dad some university egghead or something? How would he know? No, we have to find Gilliam. Curtis told me how his previous job was something to do with explosives. He will know what to do," Edgar was on his feet already, facing the door. And if they were headed to get the caretaker, surely he would find Curtis too. 

"My father was one of our countries top scientists and the reason we left our home behind was because they wanted him to construct the ultimate weapon. Something that would blow parts of the world away into nothing. I'm sure he can handle this thing," Yona told him, a hint of fire in her voice. It must have been the longest speech the boy had heard from her so far. They had positioned themselves near the door, ready to go as soon as he would open it.

Edgar grinned into the darkness. "So we now have two life saving possibilities. The day is looking a little brighter already," he tightened his grip on the handle and gave the flashlight in Yona's hand a quick pat. "Whoever stands in your way, smash him with this. Aim low and you'll get them straight in the nuts. I'll try to stay with you as long as I can, we find either Gilliam or your dad and get them back here. You ready?" The boy's voice vibrated with fear but also excitement from the adrenaline that was starting to flash through his body.

The girl nodded and he opened the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, obviously I don't know a thing about bombs and in my head this contraption would work just fine.


	6. Chapter 6

The screaming was everywhere by the time the kids left their hideout. 

All of Wilford's men were dressed in dark clothes and had their faces covered with black leather masks, both for protection and also to be able to escape prosecution, in case someone was thinking about going to the police afterwards. This way you could not describe any individual features at all. 

The children quickly ran through the maze of tunnels, it wasn't very difficult to navigate now because the intruders had marked the way with red arrows, the paint still runny after spraying them on the walls. They must have send a scout in first to mark the way.

The distinct sounds of the fight were not far away now and after another couple of corners they had found it. 

The slaughter! 

It wasn't a fight at all, it was pure kill or be killed. Several lifeless bodys covered the ground, with and without masks alike. Nearly all of the fighters were bleeding heavily and some faces were impossible to recognize because they had been beaten so severely. But no one was giving up. 

The attackers had pushed the fight back towards the upper levels of the house, where screaming and grunting could be heard from the stairways as well. 

Edgar and Yona stopped and stared in horror at the scene that was unfolding in front of them. It would be madness to try and get through. 

Edgar's mind was racing. They needed something to distract the goons, so him or Yona could slip ahead and get the help they needed. In the movies, the hero would now find one of the dead thugs and use their clothes to sneak unseen through the enemy lines. But this was not a dumb film and they would most likely be cut down from one of their own people.

Suddenly there was a high pitched scream and the boy saw a leather clad body tumble down the stairs and roll towards them. 

"Edgar, watch out," screamed someone on top of his lungs. The boy looked up and recognised Andrew standing over them, a bloody hammer held tightly in his hand and his eyes looking around wildly. "Where is it? He had a grenade," the Irishman hollered while searching the floor frantically and scrambling down past them.

Edgar felt the girl tug at his sleeve and he realized where she had pointed her finger to. 

The boy gulped. There it was. The hand-grenade was still clutched in the dead man's fingers, ready to go off as soon as his grip would finally loosen up.

"I'll get it. We should be able to cause enough of a distraction with that," the boy told her quietly and crept forward. Carefully keeping his head down he crawled the last meters on his hands and knees and found himself sitting in front of the small bomb. 

Different from Yona, the boy did not have a clue about explosives but to be careful and cautious were two things he would be mindful of. Edgar's left hand tightened around the man's grip and the other one secured his own hold on the grenade. There it was! He felt the release clip in the palm of his hand and pulled the grenade away. 

It didn't explode. It didn't do anything. He was safe and the more important thing was that they could now use it fully to their advantage.

"Where do I throw it?" Edgar asked shakily. The girl took one look at his hand and nodded her head. 

"It doesn't matter really, it's only a smoke flare," she informed him casually. 

He let out a throaty growl in return. "What is it today with bombs? Why does everyone got something going on with that shit?" Edgar howled and then angrily tossed the blood stained cylinder into the crowd in front of them. Both him and Yona didn't need another signal when they sprinted off into the confusion, while pressing their sleeves onto mouth and nose to try and prevent the thick orange smoke from harming them.

The yelling increased, friend and foe alike but the kids kept pushing through. 

Edgar could hardly believe that they made it when he saw a hand make a grab at Yona's arm. The girl whirled around to face her assailant and Edgar saw the flash of raw panic in her eyes. Before the boy could intervene and launch himself forward to get her free, the petite asian broke into a grin and wrapped herself around the stranger.

They held a short conversation in a language that consisted of short quick angry-sounding words strung together. In short, Edgar didn't understand a thing.

"This is my father," the girl explained and Edgar eyed the man with open scrutiny.

He looked a bit run down but not in too bad shape, considering that he had been brawling just a moment ago. He held a long iron bar in both hands. It was coated with gore. 

The man said something to Yona and she nodded. "He is going to defuse the bomb downstairs, but we will have to show him where to go," the girl told Edgar.

Dismayed, boy looked behind them. "We gotta pass through them again? It really is fuck-my-luck day," he groaned. 

The man murmured something to his daughter again but this time her face stayed blank. "He said that we could go all the way around, like we did earlier but some of them are surrounding the building. And of course we can jump," she didn't even bat en eye.

Edgar bristled. "Jump? Are you nuts? We're up on the fifth floor right now! We are going to break our fucking necks," he howled out. 

"My father did calculate the risk," she answered stubbornly and let herself be lifted on top of the handrail. The man jumped up next to her light-footed and Edgar couldn't believe his eyes when he then hurled himself down. 

"Shit," Edgar thrust himself forward and stared down. 

He was gone. Where did he go? Before the boy could voice his question, Yona had leapt after her father.

From her higher point of view she had seen what Edgar had missed. Of course her father didn't intend to break his neck by dropping straight to the ground floor. He had caught himself on the handrail just one flight underneath theirs and after pulling himself up, he was waiting for the kids. 

A little smile formed when he saw his daughter, bravely and full of faith, as she jumped right after him and he caught her easily. 

The boy on the other hand, he would be a problem.


End file.
